Nearly eight years ago, in August 2016, my husband Simon died from a rare form of cancer called a ‘basal skull myxofibrosarcoma’. Simon was offered radical chemotherapy by the Clatterbridge sarcoma specialist Dr Ali. We both jumped at the chance, and thanks to the care that he received from Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Wirral, it gave us another fourteen months together.
We had retired in 2012 and both got involved in volunteering for other organisations. We had seen the difference that volunteering makes to other people’s lives, so I knew that Simon would approve of me offering my services to Clatterbridge Cancer Charity. In 2018, I first began volunteering as a ‘befriender’ to inpatients at Clatterbridge, spending one afternoon a week doing simple crafts with them. Then I became involved with bucket collections, and raffle ticket selling.
After retirement, we were able to pursue our own interests too. Mine was photography. Just before he died, Simon told me to buy myself the best camera possibly for my upcoming birthday. This I did and, a few months later in May 2017, I enrolled on a photography course, to learn how to do things properly.
The rest is history! In February 2019, I volunteered to take photographs at the annual ‘Go Green’ event. The organisers really liked my photographs and asked me to take photographs for their website and for advertising purposes.
Five years on, armed with my posh camera, the lessons I’d learned from my week long photography course, a bit of Dutch courage and a keen sense that Simon is ‘cheering me on’, I have been taking photographs at the Clatterbridge charity fundraising events ever since.
As a volunteer for the Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, I know that my efforts will benefit the 1 in 2 people who will get cancer at some point in their lives. Every cancer patient matters, every coin that we collect matters, and every interaction that puts a smile on a cancer patient’s face matters. Volunteers really do make a difference.
Every person who puts a coin in the collection bucket, buys a packet of xmas cards, or agrees to pose for a photograph, is doing so with love for the cancer patients who didn’t survive and with hope for the future that their donations will make a difference.
These are the reasons why I love volunteering for the Clatterbridge Cancer Charity.
On a more practical level, I can choose what I do and how often I do it. Most events are close to home and, particularly when bucket collecting, volunteering only takes up a couple of hours of your day.
There’s something for every volunteer.
